BLACKBERRY SALES PLUMMET AFTER INITIAL RELEASE

After some initial excitement for the new line of BlackBerry 7 smartphones and a strong launch--both unusual for RIM for the past year--sales are starting to sputter. That's according to Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley, who said his checks indicate a slowing trend for BlackBerrys.

It's likely sales have been blunted by the release of the iPhone 4S, as well as the lower price of the legacy iPhone 4 and 3GS models as well. The coming release of the Galaxy Nexus and phones running on the recently unveiled Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system is expected to provide additional pressure, while Nokia may take some shine off RIM's growth overseas, Walkley said. We anticipate increasing competition across all tiers of RIM's products in 2012," he said in a research note sent to clients today.

RIM had hoped for its upgraded BlackBerry 7 operating system to inject some life back into the company's prospects and get it back on track as it migrates to a slicker next-generation platform. With that platform, BBX, expected to be delayed until the middle of next year, it's more important than ever for its current BlackBerry 7 phones to have a strong showing.
A RIM representative wasn't immediately available for comment.

RUMOR: CLIQ 2 AND DELL STREAK 7 TO LAUNCH JANUARY 9TH ON T-MOBILE

According to an unconfirmed report, T-Mobile will launch two new Android-powered devices in mid-January. Enthusiast blog TmoNews claims that a source has pegged January 19th as the tentative release date for both the Motorola CLIQ 2 and the Dell Streak 7. The CLIQ 2 was last rumored to feature Motorola’s MOTOBLUR UI atop Android 2.2, as well as a unique QWERTY keypad that has no gaps between the keys. The Dell Streak 7 will reportedly be a 7-inch tablet with dual-cameras and version 2.2 of the Android OS. Neither device has been confirmed to be launching next month by T-Mobile or its respective manufacturer, though both are expected to be announced next week at the Consumer Electronics Show. [BGR]

WINDOWS PHONE 7 LAUNCHING OCTOBER 11TH

Windows Phone 7 (WP7) recently went gold and there are a ton of devices ready to debut, so the official launch of WP7 is just around the corner.  According to Pocket-Lint sources, "senior figures within the industry", Microsoft's newest mobile OS will debut on October 11th, with phones launching later that month.  Microsoft will hold a special New York launch event to announce their highly anticipated mobile OS. [Engadget]